Ahead of next Tuesday’s Parliaments, Politics and People seminar, we hear from Dr Charlotte Brownhill of the Open University. On 14 November Charlotte will discuss the management of Irish parliaments in the 1630s and 1640s.
The seminar takes place between 5:30 and 6.30 p.m. You can attend online via Zoom. Details of how to join the discussion are available here.
Sir Thomas Wentworth (later earl of Strafford) served as an MP in English parliaments held during the reigns of James I and Charles I. But by the end of the 1620s, Wentworth had ‘changed sides’ from parliamentary champion to court supporter. He was appointed lord president of the council of the North in December 1628 and then became a member of the English privy council in November 1629. His rise to power continued when he was appointed lord deputy of Ireland in 1632.
From the mid sixteenth century, the colonisation of Ireland had intensified. To try and maintain control, English monarchs appointed a lord deputy or lieutenant of Ireland to rule on their behalf, although with limited powers which meant that this vice-regent was reliant on the king and English privy council. Wentworth, like previous deputies, had to try to control a kingdom which was not only divided religiously, but also between the Old and New English and the native Irish. In addition, he could be undermined by his political enemies from within England whilst he was away. On a practical level, the deputy experienced communication difficulties with letters between Ireland and England sometimes taking weeks to arrive, and was required to take long absences from Ireland when his attendance on the king was required.
Wentworth negotiated additional rights which previous lord deputies had not had, in order to try and overcome these issues. Complaints against the Irish administration had to be first heard by Wentworth’s court in Dublin rather than being taken directly to England, grants relating to Ireland could not be passed in England without his prior knowledge, and Wentworth was also permitted to clear Ireland’s debt before the king used any of Ireland’s revenues. He also acquired the right to appoint his preferred candidates to official posts in Ireland.
On his arrival in Ireland to take up his post in 1633, Wentworth chose Christopher Wandesford, whom he had known since their schooldays, as his master of the rolls and installed him on the Irish privy council. Sir George Radcliffe, who had also had a long relationship with Wentworth, became a member of the Irish privy council. The importance of these two men was noted by Wentworth when he wrote to the earl of Portland from Ireland stating that ‘there is not a Minister on this Side, that knows any Thing I either write or intend, excepting the Master of the Rolls and Sir George Radcliffe.’ Although Wentworth himself has been the subject of much attention by historians, the role of the men that he surrounded himself with has usually only been mentioned in passing, perhaps because much of their work was carried out behind the scenes. Christopher Wandesford is also particularly interesting as in Wentworth’s absences from Ireland, he acted as a lord justice during the 1630s, and then lord deputy of Ireland in 1640. Exploring Wandesford’s role as the ‘deputy’s deputy’ highlights the difficulties of governing Ireland from afar, especially when the king’s chosen representative was absent.
The particular focus here is the role of Wentworth’s close associates in the parliaments held in Ireland during Wentworth’s time in office. He relied heavily upon Wandesford and Radcliffe to help him to prepare parliament, including managing the make-up of the House. Whilst parliament was in session, he relied upon these men to generate and maintain support for governmental policy. They acted as conduits of information to Wentworth, assessing the mood of the House, acting as controllers of debate and reporting back to the lord deputy on discussions within committees. However, despite outward appearances that the Parliament of 1634–35 had been a success, the 1640 sessions of the 1640–49 Parliament were much more difficult to control. After the first session where supply was granted in spring 1640, Wentworth was then recalled to England to support the King. In his absence during the second and third sessions of parliament, Radcliffe and Wandesford struggled to maintain the government’s initiative over parliament. This culminated in the Irish House of Commons presenting the Humble and Just Remonstrance to lord deputy Wandesford on 9 November 1640. This accused Wentworth of introducing arbitrary government in Ireland and formed the basis of the later impeachment case brought against him by the English Long Parliament in November 1640.
Wandesford and Radcliffe’s Irish parliamentary careers provide an insight into how Wentworth used his associates to support his policies in Ireland. This initially appeared successful whilst Wentworth’s government was strong, but, in Wentworth’s absence, they were unable to control parliament, and this contributed significantly to the collapse of the administration.
CB
The seminar takes place on 14 November between 5:30 and 6.30 p.m. You can attend online via Zoom. Details of how to join the discussion are available here.
Further reading
The Earl of Strafforde’s Letters and Dispatches ed. W. Knowler (2 vols., 1739)
Hugh Kearney, Strafford in Ireland 1633-41 (1959/1989)
